Rory McIlroy has enjoyed the kind of year that will live forever in golf folklore. An away Ryder Cup win in New York, a dramatic Irish Open triumph after a playoff at The K Club, another Race to Dubai title, and topping it all, finally conquering Augusta to complete the career grand slam in a playoff against Justin Rose. It has been the most dramatic season of McIlroy’s golfing life, and speaking on the Shotgun Start podcast, the 36-year-old opened up on one fascinating tactical insight behind his breakthrough Masters win.
On a day filled with emotion, pressure and ghosts of the past, Rory McIlroy revealed he had a specific plan to handle the one opponent who has hurt him more than most: Bryson DeChambeau.
Rory McIlroy Explains The Big Challenge Of Playing With Bryson DeChambeau
Rory McIlroy has admitted that dealing with Bryson DeChambeau rather than the leaderboard, or Augusta National itself, was the mental battle he feared most heading into the final round of the 2025 Masters.
Speaking on the Shotgun Start podcast, McIlroy said his pairing with DeChambeau, a player whose ultra-aggressive approach previously caused him major championship trauma, was something he had targeted psychologically before he ever struck a ball.
I felt like that was going to be the toughest thing I would have to deal with that day. We were polar opposites in how we approached the game.
Rory McIlroy and his sports psychologist Bob Rotella discussed the challenge before tee-off, and Rotella’s answer was blunt:
He said, ‘Just make him invisible.’ Don’t look at him, don’t engage, just get lost in your own little world.
Rotella told him to lean heavily on childhood friend and caddie Charlie Diamond to build that bubble.
You’ve got Harry beside you. Let that be your world.
The approach quickly became crucial. After a shaky opening, McIlroy described two early moments, at the 3rd and 4th holes, as tournament-defining.
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On the 3rd, DeChambeau laid up, stunning McIlroy:
I could not believe Bryson laid up… If he hit driver and reached the green, it could have taken the tournament by the scruff of the neck.
Instead, Bryson DeChambeau three-putted, McIlroy made birdie, and the momentum shifted.
Within 30 minutes, McIlroy had turned a one-shot deficit into a three-shot cushion:
I was walking up the 3rd fairway one behind… and walking off the 5th tee three ahead. I was like, ‘What just happened?’
McIlroy admitted that for most of his career, DeChambeau had given him trouble, especially after past major collapses when paired together.
Once that hurdle was cleared, McIlroy said he realised the only opponent left was himself.
When it became clear Bryson wasn’t going to be the biggest impediment, then I made myself the biggest impediment.
But despite some outrageous Rory McIlroy drama, he held his nerve in the end and secured an historic green jacket and a career grand slam.
McIlroy is now the sixth man in history to complete the career grand slam, and the journey through New York, Dubai, Newcastle, and Augusta suggests his story may not be finished yet.
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